SDSU's basketball schedule is tough, but tough enough?

The schedule lists 11 nonconference and 29 total games, after playing 30 or 31 for the previous eight seasons. SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said they might add an additional Division I game if one presents itself in the next few weeks.

The schedule lists 11 nonconference and 29 total games, after playing 30 or 31 for the previous eight seasons. SDSU coach Brian Dutcher said they might add an additional Division I game if one presents itself in the next few weeks.

A blurry image came into sharper focus Thursday when San Diego State released its full men’s basketball schedule, which has fewer games than usual but may be every bit as challenging.

The Mountain West issued the framework of the conference schedule in June, but now there are tip times and TV assignments (the Aztecs are on the dreaded ESPN3 web feed twice for sure and possibly three more times). And an 11-game nonconference schedule was announced, the shortest in two decades.

In all, there are 29 games after playing 30 or 31 in the previous eight seasons. New head coach Brian Dutcher said his staff might add another Division I opponent if the “right opportunity presents itself” but he’s OK with the schedule as is.

In reality, it’s not much different from previous seasons in terms of NCAA Tournament consideration. The Aztecs are playing 28 Div. I opponents and one non-Div. I (the Nov. 10 opener against NAIA San Diego Christian); in past years, they typically played 28 or 29 Div. Is and two non-Div. Is, but new Mountain West rules now limit the latter to one. Either way, the NCAA Tournament selection committee considers only Div. I games.

There are games against the Pac-12’s Arizona State and Cal, although neither reached the NCAA Tournament last season. Gonzaga comes to Viejas Arena on Dec. 21 with a roster of talented prospects but not the bulk of last season’s team that was a few possessions from a national championship.

Then there’s the wildcard of the Wooden Legacy, an eight-team tournament over Thanksgiving at Cal State Fullerton’s Titan Gym with a mixed bag of potential opponents.

“It all depends how the Wooden shapes up,” said Dutcher, whose team leaves Southern California only once before Christmas, and that’s for the Nov. 14 game at ASU. “If we end up playing a couple of the higher RPI teams in that, then I think the schedule will work out fine. But if there’s an upset, either we get upset or someone else gets upset, that will have a lot to do with how the nonconference schedule shakes out.

“If you end up playing Georgia (in the semifinals) and then Saint Mary’s (in the final), that’s pretty darn competitive.”

Following the Wooden Legacy, the Aztecs play only once over the next week: at USD on Nov. 30. And that’s by design.

One issue with previous USD games was it often was sandwiched between higher-profile opponents, making it the third or fourth most important game of the week while it was arguably the Toreros’ most important of the season.

In 2013, the last time the Aztecs played at Jenny Craig Pavilion, it landed between games against two ranked opponents and the Pac-12’s Washington – and the Aztecs nervously watched a Toreros shot bounce off the rim at the buzzer to preserve a 65-64 win. In 2011, it fell immediately after a stretch of games against ranked Arizona, Creighton and Cal teams – and the Aztecs trailed 14-2 before winning.

This time, it will command their full attention. It’s the most important game of the week because it’s the only game of the week.

“It’s a cliché, but you can throw the records out the window for that game,” Dutcher said. “You’re playing in packed, hostile environment and a cross-city game. It doesn’t matter where we’re going to end up or where they’re going to end up, that one game is highly, highly competitive.

“We know what it’s going to be. Maybe another team, you’d say we’ll do it on a one-day or two-day prep. But coming off the Wooden Legacy, playing all those games in such a short time, we feel like we need more time to get ready for it and that’s what we’ve got.”

The most notable news from the updated Mountain West schedule is game times, which TV, not the conference or school, dictates. Five home dates tip at 8 p.m. on weeknights, which means, once you inch your way out of the parking structure, you’re not getting home until close to midnight.

Eleven of SDSU’s 18 conference games are on CBS Sports Network, and two on ESPN 2 (at Boise State and at Nevada). The opening two, Dec. 27 at Wyoming and Dec. 30 against Utah State, are on ESPN3.

The remaining three conference games could wind up on ESPN3 or ESPNU. The network will make that determination at a later date.

No tip times or TV has been announced for the Aztecs’ first five games, including the Nov. 2 exhibition against UC San Diego. Those games are outside the conference’s TV package that SDSU presumably will sell to a local channel.

Last year the Aztecs used their allotted two exhibition slots on games at Viejas Arena. This year they have returned to the option of one exhibition and one closed-door scrimmage against a Div. I school. In the past, the Aztecs have played Stanford and, in 2015, UCLA of the Pac-12.

Jay Morris leaves for San Jose State

Jay Morris, we barely knew ya.

SDSU basketball’s director of player development and de facto video coordinator, hired last month to replace the promoted Tim Shelton, has accepted a full assistant coaching position at San Jose State on Jean Prioleau’s staff.

Prioleau, a former Colorado associate head coach, was hired after Dave Wojcik resigned in July citing personal reasons. Morris was the director of player development at Long Beach State last season.